The prior art abounds with portable shower units for use for bathing and decontamination purposes. Most of prior art shower units include a single nozzle for dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes; however, many of the prior art shower apparatuses include a plurality of nozzles for dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,852,784, 3,629,875, 3,925,828, and 4,413,363 are illustrative of portable prior art shower apparatuses having a single nozzle for dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,065,265, 2,336,402 and 4,554,690 are illustrative of portable shower apparatuses having a plurality of nozzles for dispensing steady streams of water for bathing purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,675,923 and 4,777,675 are illustrative of portable shower apparatuses having a single nozzle for dispensing a steady stream of water for decontamination purposes.
These prior art shower units, while somewhat portable, have several drawbacks or disadvantages. The principal disadvantage of these prior art shower units is due to the fact that they require a large amount of water since they dispense one or more steady streams of flowing water. Another principal disadvantage of these prior art shower unit resides in the fact that they are intended for use for a single function, namely, the function of bathing. Still another principal disadvantage of most of the prior art shower units resides in their rigid, non-collapsible, structure which precludes the ready and easy movement of the shower unit from one location to another.